AMSTERDAM  The head of a Catholic religious order in the Netherlands has confirmed one of his subordinate priests served on the board of an organization that promotes pedophilia.

Herman Spronck, head of the Dutch arm of the Salesian order, said in a statement Friday the priest served on the board of the "Martijn" organization, which is widely reviled but not illegal.

"Of course we reject this and distance ourselves from this personal initiative" on the part of the priest, Spronck's statement said.

"Membership in such organizations does not fit with the ethos of the Salesian order."

However, RTL Nieuws, which broke the story, published interviews both with Spronck and the priest, identified as 73-year-old "Father Van B.," in which they defend some pedophile relationships.

"Society thinks these relationships are harmful. I disagree," RTL quoted Van B. as saying. He served on Martijn's board from 2008 until 2010, when the organization's founder was arrested for alleged possession of child pornography. That case is ongoing.

RTL quoted Spronck as saying that "formally I always say that everyone must obey the law. But these relationships do not necessarily have to be damaging."

Spronck and his organization could not be reached late Friday for comment.

If we claim to serve Christ, then it is implicit that we accept the guilt of our sin and find grace in Christ. That said, we then follow our legal Master. Christ the King has laid out church order and discipline in the Scriptures. This man is apostate and needs to be ejected from any fellowship of true believers. For the organized church to avoid this issue and play games is to foster the same and server the purposes of antiChrist. We (all who name Christ) need to repent and return to the revealed basis of our faith - the Word.

Bastard. One of the main promoters of pedophilia was Ralph Underwager a Lutheran minister. You can find the interview he did in the Dutch magazine “Paedeka” ,a pro pedophile magazine, on line. So unfortunately the involvement of ministers in such activity is not new or unique to one faith.

I love the generalization of thousands of past cases. How many? What defines abuse? How many years back? I imagine the numbers are way exagerated and that abuse can mean anything from an inppropriate remark to rape.

Did abuse happen? I have no doubt. But Holland is a small country and the idea of there being thousands of legitmate accusation of abuse just does not make sense.

One of the main promoters of pedophilia was Ralph Underwager a Lutheran minister. You can find the interview he did in the Dutch magazine Paedeka ,a pro pedophile magazine, on line. So unfortunately the involvement of ministers in such activity is not new or unique to one faith.

Sad, but true.

In the latest example of the Boston archdiocese's chaotic record-keeping on problem priests, church officials acknowledged yesterday their discovery of new records detailing allegations of the Rev. Paul R. Shanley's involvement in NAMBLA - the North American Man-Boy Love Association....

....more damning were numerous documents revealing that Bernard Cardinal Law, his predecessor, Humberto Cardinal Medeiros, and other archdiocesean officials were aware of Shanley's behavior as far back as 1967, but continued to assign him to posts that put him in direct contact with children....

....records showed that Shanley spoke in favor of sex between men and boys at a December 1978 Boston convention that led to the founding of the intergenerational sex advocacy organization. But a Shanley supporter who organized the meeting and later co-founded NAMBLA insists that it has been mischaracterized, and that many different points of view on the subject were presented....

....More germane to the accusations of MacLeish's clients is Socrates' contention that it would have been totally out of character for Shanley to have had violent sex with a 6-year-old. In his suit and in a criminal complaint to Newton police, Gregory Ford, 24, claims that Shanley yanked him out of CCD classes and repeatedly fondled and raped him as a child in the rectory of Newton's St. Jean's Parish for six years beginning in 1984. ``I don't believe it, based on what I know of him,'' Socrates said, insisting that the priest would never have had sex with a pre-pubescent boy. ``I don't believe he ever did anything by force.'' -- from the 2002 thread BREAKING: Church uncovers [NEW!!!] file on Shanley NAMBLA activity

Its a cheap shot to denigrate the entire Salesian order because of the acts of a single degenerate. The Salesians, named after St. Francis de Sales, do a tremendous job in working with orphans and underprivileged kids around the world.

12
posted on 05/22/2011 10:44:52 AM PDT
by Natural Law
(Maybe the rapture really did happen and NOBODY made the cut!)

Its a cheap shot to denigrate the entire Salesian order because of the acts of a single degenerate. The Salesians, named after St. Francis de Sales, do a tremendous job in working with orphans and underprivileged kids around the world.

It wasn't a cheap shot at all, merely a bad pun.

Notice the remnant of my post was about "this GUY", not the whole order, nor the Church.

I thought that was clear from context, as well as my later posts in the thread.

Cheers!

13
posted on 05/22/2011 11:15:40 AM PDT
by grey_whiskers
(The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)

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